Toshiie Maeda
Toshiie Maeda first appeared as a unique playable character in Samurai Warriors 2 Xtreme Legends. He fights for the Oda since the beginning of Nobunaga's conquests up till the Toyotomi Rule. Role in the games In Samurai Warriors 2 Xtreme legends, Toshiie is a hot-blooded man who makes many bonds of friendship. He respects Katsuie Shibata and treats him like a father. His weapons are the katana with a wide blade and two spears. In his first stage he fights at Okehazama against the Imagawa clan, greatly outnumbered. At first Toshiie doesn't understand Nobunaga's instructions but Hideyoshi explains them to him. Fighting along side Katsuie Shibata, Katsuie tells him to always concentrate on the enemy in front on him, that is war. If Toshiie follows Nobunaga's instructions and the ambush succeeds the Tokugawa army will defect and can easily finish the stage. In his second stage he helps Nobunaga escape from the Azai-Asakura army at Kanegasaki. There Hideyoshi, tells Toshiie to work for him and does so in the next stage at Osaka Bay. In his first mission under Hideyoshi, Toshiie succeeds in achieving victory for the Oda. After the battle of Osaka Bay, Toshiie along side Hideyoshi fight the Chosokabe army at Shikoku. There they learn about Nobunaga's death at Honnoji. Toshiie tells Hideyoshi to go back but Hideyoshi decides to face the enemy in front of him first and then go after Mitsuhide Akechi and Hideyoshi sees this as an opportunity to take over Japan. After their subgation at Shikoku Toshiie rushes to Katsuie's castle telling him to fight along side him at Shizugatake but fails and faces Katsuie in battle at Shizugatake. In his ending Toshiie sees Katsuie's burning castle. After giving Hideyoshi a beating Toshiie decides to join his ranks to make sure that Hideyoshi won't hurt any more innocent people. In his dream stage, Toshiie is tested by Nobunaga and Katsuie to demonstrate his leadership in a tournament of champions. His adviser is Kanetsugu Naoe and he instructs Toshiie to create a strong army before they invade Nobunaga's castle. The climax of the event is a duel with Katsuie. In Samurai Warriors 3 he is still a high-ranking official serving the Oda clan. As a man who believes deeply in duty he is troubled by the events. But his relationship with his nephew Keiji Maeda has changed his outlook on the world. Character information Vioce Actors *Dan Jeannotte - Samurai Warriors 2 Xtreme Legends (English) *Takeshi Kusao - Samurai Warriors 2 (Japanese) *Katsuyuki Konishi - Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends and Samurai Warriors 3 (Japanese) Quotes See Toshiie Maeda/Quotes Weapons See Toshiie Maeda/Weapons Titles Samurai Warriors 2 Level 1 - 10: Model Student Level 11 - 20: Rough Diamond Level 21 - 30: Conflicted Talent Level 31 - 40: Akahoro Leader Level 41 - 49: Trusted Heir Level 50 - 69: Lord of Kaga Level 70: Incomparable Spearman History Toshiie was the fourth son of Toshimasa Maeda. Toshiie was born in Owari Province. Toshiie served Nobunaga Oda from childhood (first as a page) and his loyalty was rewarded by being allowed to be the head of the Maeda clan, very unusual for a fourth son with no apparent failures among his elder brothers. Just like Nobunaga, Toshiie was also a delinquent, usually dressed in the outlandish style of a kabukimono. It is believed he also became a friend to Hideyoshi Toyotomi in their youth. Just as Hideyoshi was known as Saru (monkey) it is believed that Toshiie was called Inu (dog) by Nobunaga. Due to a long-standing belief that dogs and monkeys are never friendly to each other, Toshiie is often depicted as reserved and stern, in contrast to Hideyoshi's talkative and easy-going nature. Toshiie's behavior on the battlefield was anything but angelic. Toshiie began his career as a member of the akahoro-shū, the unit under Nobunaga's personal command. He later became an infantry captain in the Oda army. During his military career, Toshiie made the acquaintance of many important figures, such as Hideyoshi Toyotomi, Narimasa Sassa, Mitsuhide Akechi, Ukon Takayama, and others. He also made some enemies and rivals such as Mitsuhide and Ieyasu Tokugawa. Toshiie is said that he participated in the Ambush at Okehazama. It is not clear whether he really participated or not, because some state that he was at Nagashima during the ambush. After defeating the Asakura, Toshiie fought under Katsuie Shibata in the Hokuriku area. Despite its small size, Kaga was a highly productive province which would eventually develop into the wealthiest han in Edo period Japan, with a net worth of 1 million koku; thus, it was nicknamed Kaga Hyaku-man-goku. Toshiie benefited from a core group of very capable senior vassals. Some, like Nagayori Murai and Nagatomi Okumura, were retainers of long standing with the Maeda. In 1575, Toshiie played a key role in the battle of Nagashino. Along with Narimasa Sassa from the black horo unit and three other captains, Toshiie was given 3,000 ashigaru armed with arquebusiers which would make such a memorable contribution to the Oda-Tokugawa victory. It was not long before Nobunaga sent Toshiie off a campaign. The provinces of Echizen and Kaga which lay on the north of the capital city Kyoto. While the Ishiyama - Honganji war, the long campaign against the Ikkō-Ikki was raging to the south of Kyoto. Nobunaga's generals steadily nibbled the Ikkō-Ikki to he north of Kyoto. It proved to be a campaign almost as long as the Ishiyama - Honganji itself and Toshiie was fully involved in the operations. When Nobunaga conquered Echizen Nobunaga assigned it to Katsuie Shibata, who took up residence at Kita no Sho castle. At the same time he appointed Toshiie to be one of the three metsuke to report on Katsuie's conduct in the post. After Nobunaga's assassination at Honnoji by Mitsuhide Akechi and Mitsuhide's subsequent defeat by Hideyoshi, he battled Hideyoshi under Shibata's command in the Battle of Shizugatake. After Shibata's defeat, Toshiie worked for Hideyoshi and became one of his leading generals. Later somewhere during this time he was forced to fight another of his friends, Narimasa Sassa. Narimasa was greatly outnumbered and felled by Toshiie, following the major Maeda victory at the Battle of Suemori Castle. Toshiie also fought in the siege of Odawara Castle in 1592 against the Hojo clan, as it was the only threat remaining to Hideyoshi's unification. Before dying in 1598, Hideyoshi named Toshiie to the council of Five Elders to support Hideyori Toyotomi until he was old enough to take control on his own. Toshiie himself was ailing, and could manage to support Hideyori Toyotomi for only a year before he died as well. Toshiie was succeeded by his son Toshinaga Maeda. Gallery Toshiie Maeda.png|Samurai Warriors 2 Xtreme Legends render Toshiie Maeda SW3 render.jpg|Samurai Warriors 3 render Toshiie Maeda SW4 Render.png|Samurai Warriors 4 Render Toshiie Maeda sw3.jpg|Samurai Warriors 3 artwork Toshiie Maeda 2.jpg|Samurai Warriors 4 Artwork MaedaToshiie HSM.jpg|Hyakuman-nin no Sengoku Musou Appearance Category:Samurai Warriors 2 characters Category:Characters